1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computer software and, more specifically, to methods of presenting an Internet style hot linking system to access legacy host system datastream screens.
2. Description of Related Art
The Internet, also referred to as an “internetwork”, is a set of computer networks, possibly dissimilar, joined together by means of gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from the sending network to the protocols used by the receiving network (with packets if necessary). When capitalized, the term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
The Internet has become a cultural fixture as a source of both information and entertainment. Many businesses are creating Internet sites as an integral part of their marketing efforts, informing consumers of the products or services offered by the business or providing other information seeking to engender brand loyalty. Many federal, state, and local government agencies are also employing Internet sites for informational purposes, particularly agencies which must interact with virtually all segments of society such as the Internal Revenue Service and secretaries of state. Providing informational guides and/or searchable databases of online public records may reduce operating costs. Further, the Internet is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for commercial transactions.
Currently, the most commonly employed method of transferring data over the Internet is to employ the World Wide Web environment, also called simply “the Web”. Other Internet resources exist for transferring information, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Gopher, but have not achieved the popularity of the Web. In the Web environment, servers and clients effect data transaction using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a known protocol for handling the transfer of various data files (e.g., text, still graphic images, audio, motion video, etc.). The information in various data files is formatted for presentation to a user by a standard page description language, the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). In addition to basic presentation formatting, HTML allows developers to specify “links” to other Web resources identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is a special syntax identifier defining a communications path to specific information. Each logical block of information accessible to a client, called a “page” or a “Web page”, is identified by a URL. The URL provides a universal, consistent method for finding and accessing this information, not necessarily for the user, but mostly for the user's Web “browser”. A browser is a program capable of submitting a request for information identified by a URL at the client machine. Retrieval of information on the Web is generally accomplished with an HTML-compatible browser. The Internet also is widely used to transfer applications to users using browsers. With respect to commerce on the Web, individual consumers and business use the Web to purchase various goods and services. In offering goods and services, some companies offer goods and services solely on the Web while others use the Web to extend their reach.
However, many computer resources were written before the Internet had become a cultural fixture and without contemplating adaptation of the application, service or data to an Internet connected world. Thus, many computer services (legacy host systems) to which users desire access must be reformatted such that they are readable and useable by web browsers, since this is one of the most convenient and common methods of accessing information via the Internet.
Even with reformatting, however, users were required to be trained or otherwise be familiar with the particular commands necessary to navigate through the various screens contained within these legacy host systems. If users desire access to several or many of these systems, remembering the commands associated with each system becomes burdensome. Furthermore, many people may desire one time or occasional access to systems. Thus, knowledge of the particular commands is even more burdensome to these people. Therefore, a method of accessing and navigating through various screens of a legacy host system without requiring knowledge of service specific commands is desirable. Furthermore, it is desirable to have such a system that is compatible with currently available browsers and uses a system of graphically displayed hyperlinks to which most users have grown accustomed.